More than half of the newsroom at Radio NL in Kamloops, B.C., has been let go as the station moves to a music format.

The radio station has had a decades-long grip on news in the Interior and beyond, breaking stories and covering everything from emergencies to courts and city hall.

Radio NL news director Paul James says four of seven journalists have been let go, but they will still be maintaining a newsroom.

He says the ability of radio stations, particularly in the smaller communities, to maintain a news-talk operation has become less financially viable.

Radio NL, at 610 on the AM dial, was one of more than 100 licences purchased by Stingray Digital Group Inc. in 2018.

B.C. Premier David Eby says in reaction to the cuts on social media that the decision by the Stingray Group to reduce the newsroom was 鈥渏ust bad for local journalism.鈥�